Hackers Break Into Russian TV on Independence Day to Air Footage of War’s Reality

On the evening of August 24, Ukraine’s Independence Day, Russian television channels in multiple regions unexpectedly aired a video showing the real consequences of Russia’s war against Ukraine, including footage of destroyed oil facilities and military burials.

According to Hromadske sources in Ukraine’s Defense Intelligence (HUR), local cyber partisans breached the systems of a major Russian provider, referred to as “№3,” and managed to broadcast the video simultaneously on 116 television channels.

The hackers also blocked administrator access to the provider’s servers, complicating efforts to halt the transmission.

At least 50,000 subscribers in Moscow and other regions reportedly watched the broadcast for more than three hours during prime time.

For users without digital television, the content was also available through mobile applications in Apple Store and Google Play, Smart TV services, and additional cable networks.

Sources emphasized that such operations are aimed at breaking through state-controlled propaganda and delivering information about the war directly to Russian audiences.

Earlier, on July 28, pro-Ukraine hacker group Silent Crow and Belarusian Cyber Partisans claimed responsibility for a large-scale cyberattack on Russian airline Aeroflot.

According to their statement, the operation destroyed around 7,000 servers, compromised corporate systems, and extracted more than 20 terabytes of data, including emails, surveillance records, and passenger information.

The hackers said they had maintained access to Aeroflot’s network for over a year before making their presence public.

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